No Fear of Hard Study

No Fear of Hard Study. Admiral Chester Nimitz. With a year of high school remaining, Chester's determination to get a higher education led him to take a competitive exam for admission to the U.S. Naval Academy, even though he had hoped to go to West Point. Hard studying and tutoring by a teacher and the principal of Tivy High School allowed him to win the local competition. , Two months later, after further preparation, he passed the national examinations. At the Academy, Nimitz continued to rise before reveille to study. His efforts paid off as he finished seventh out of 114 graduates. , "A Lenient and Tolerant Eye" , In his final year at the Academy, Midshipman Nimitz was observed purchasing beer in town by a well dressed gentleman. In class the following day Nimitz was horrified to see the same gentleman sitting in the instructor's chair wearing the uniform of a U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander. , Although the instructor never gave any indication of having seen Nimitz before, Chester believed otherwise. He later said, , "This escapade taught me a lesson on how to behave for the remainder of my stay at the Academy. It also taught me to look with lenient and tolerant eye on first offenders when in later years they appeared before me as a Commanding Officer holding Mast.", While commanding the USS Augusta, Captain Nimitz often tasked his ensigns to perform ship handling duties. In one instance, Ensign O.D. Waters brought the cruiser into anchorage too fast, overshot the mark, and had to order the engines full astern while paying out ninety fathoms of anchor cable before the ship finally came to a stop. , Nimitz remained silent throughout. Only when the Augusta was securely at anchor did he remark, , "Waters, you know what you did wrong, don't you?" Waters responded: "Yes sir, I certainly do." To which Nimitz replied, "That's fine." , From The Battle of Midway by Craig L. Symonds